WA shark cull: 172 caught on drum lines off popular beaches

More than 170 sharks have been caught under the West Australian Government's catch and kill program, which ended last week.

Drum lines were set off five Perth beaches and another two in the South West following a spate of fatal shark attacks in WA, attributed mostly to great whites.

The trial program ran for about three months and the State Government is hailing it as a success.

A total of 172 sharks were caught. Of those, 50 tiger sharks larger than three metres were destroyed, with the biggest shark caught at Floreat Beach measuring at 4.5 metres.

Eight other animals were also captured, including stingrays, however no great white sharks were caught under the trial program.

The State Government is seeking federal approval to extend the shark policy for another three years.

Fisheries Minister Ken Baston said the program had restored the confidence of beachgoers.

"I think the strategy's gone very well, bearing in mind that it's a very broad strategy, and that's basically to protect those people that swim in those popular areas," he said.

"No great whites were caught, and the reasons I've been told is because that great white season is later, but we were actually only after the three species of shark that are deemed dangerous to humans.

"If any of that type of shark was in the boundaries of one kilometre, where the drum lines were, then they took the bait and got caught."

But Labor fisheries spokesman Dave Kelly said the Government could not claim the policy was successful.

It has hardly caught any of the sharks it was destined to catch and the Government hasn't produced any scientific evidence to say that the policy is working.

Labor fisheries spokesman Dave Kelly

"The policy is very unpopular, it has hardly caught any of the sharks it was destined to catch and the Government hasn't produced any scientific evidence to say that the policy is working," he said.

Greens MP Lynn MacLaren said the program has not decreased the risk to swimmers and should be abandoned.

"Reducing the population of tiger sharks does nothing to improve beach safety," she said.

"The tiger shark in WA has never been implicated in fatalities; if it was involved in a fatality, it was way back in the 20s.

"So we know that the great white shark is the shark that has been implicated in fatalities off our coast and no great white sharks were captured on the drum lines in this whole program."

Ms McLaren said the "millions of dollars that are being spent on the drum lines", would be better spent conducting research on the sharks.

"We do need to know a lot more about the great white shark population that migrates along our coast," she said.

"We need greater research and greater acoustic tagging programs for the great white sharks. Even looking into the shark spotters program that's so successful in South Africa would be a better use of funds.

"They really do need to reassess their strategy."

Beach closures down

The State Government said beach closures were down from the previous year, but Mr Kelly said the shark catch and kill program cannot be measured by that.

"What people want is scientific research to show why the Government thinks this policy makes our beaches safer," he said.

"None of that has been provided and the other thing that the Government should be releasing is how much money this policy is costing."

Ms MacLaren agreed.

"To claim that this strategy has in any way improved beach safety is complete bunkum," she said.